Democracy

BSL users should
be able to represent the people of Scotland as elected
politicians at a national and local level, and to serve on boards
of our public bodies.

Steps to be taken by 2023:

51. Assess whether the Access to Elected Office fund met the
needs of
BSL users. This
pilot fund offers support to cover additional costs, like
BSL/English
interpreting, who wish to stand for selection or election in the
2017 local government elections.

52. Offer advice and support to
BSL users about
how to participate in politics and to political parties and
organisations about how to be more inclusive of
BSL users.

53. We will raise awareness of public appointments as a way to
participate in public life. We will make sure that the boards of
public bodies know about
BSL and the
BSL National Plan
and what they need to do.

BSL users should
have full access to information about democracy, including
voting

Steps to be taken by 2023:

54. Provide better information about voting in
BSL and review
whether it has been effective.

55. We will encourage political parties to produce election
information in
BSL.

Question 28: Do you think these are the right steps under
Democracy?

In total, 79 people or groups answered Question 28. Of these,
80% agreed that these are the right steps under Democracy, 9%
disagreed, and 11% said they did not know.

Question 29 - Please tell us why you think this.

Question 30 - If there are there any additional steps, or
potential solutions that you think could be added to the
Democracy section, please tell us.

Around 70 people or groups made a written /
BSL comment about
democracy and it was discussed at around 25 of the events.

Some of the general comments made included that it is very
important for Deaf and Deafblind
BSL users to be
able to participate fully and be actively engaged in the democratic
process. This includes being able to stand for elected office and,
if successful, be able to represent the Deaf / Deafblind
BSL communities.
Someone suggested that it would be particularly good to have a Deaf
BSL user Member of
the Scottish Parliament (
MSP).

A number of people said that the goals and steps proposed should
help Deaf / Deafblind
BSL users be more
actively involved in the democratic process but a few people
commented on the amount of work that is required and that achieving
these gaols will be challenging. A small number of people suggested
that the goals are in the wrong order and that the first and
primary goal should be for all Deaf / Deafblind
BSL users to be
able to understand 'politics', and then vote with confidence.

A small number of people felt the goals or actions were vague
and that more information is needed or a more comprehensive set of
actions is required. A small number of others suggested these goals
and steps may be less of a priority than some of the other issues
covered in the Draft
BSL National
Plan.

Access to Elected Office fund (Step 51)

Comments people or groups made about this step included:

It is only fair that Deaf / Deafblind
BSL users should
be able to represent the people of Scotland as elected
politicians at a national and local level. Deaf / Deafblind
BSL users should
have the same opportunities as anyone else to stand for an
elected position. This should include bodies such as Community
Councils and School Boards.

It would be very difficult to stand for elected office
without these resources being available.

Many people do not know anything about this fund and that it
is important to share information about these types of resources
so people a chance to apply for them.

It will be important to consider whether the Fund also meets
the needs of Deafblind
BSL users.

There has already been work in this area, for example the
Access to Democracy Project (A2D) by the
SCoD,
which was funded by the Electoral Commission. This could offer a
potential model for any further work.

Suggestions made or ideas people or groups had included:

There should be a full review of the Access to Elected Office
Fund on
BSL access as
well as
BSL
participation.

This should be a permanent fund and not just a pilot. No cap
should be applied to amount of funding that can be made
available. People may require several forms of communication
support and the funding will need to be sufficient to allow for
this.

The Access to Elected Office fund should be extended to give
people whose first or preferred language is
BSL the
opportunity to develop the necessary skills to stand for
political office.

Expenditure for
BSL / English
interpreting should be excluded from a candidate's campaign
spending limits.

A central website could share information about funds such as
this. However, the information provided should be straightforward
and the website should be easy to navigate. The information needs
to be provide bilingually in both
BSL and
English.

Advice and support on participation (Step 52)

Comments people or groups made about this step included:

It seems that
BSL / English
interpretation is not being made available at many political
engagement events, such as hustings.

Political parties have a responsibility to support any party
members who are Deaf/ Deafblind
BSL users and
who want to stand for elected office.

The Scottish Parliament, the
UK Parliament, the
European Parliament and local authorities should do all possible
to ensure Deaf / Deafblind
BSL users have
equal access to their elected representatives.

Suggestions made or ideas people or groups had included:

Information needs to be made available. For example, there
should be a hub or central point of contact on providing advice,
information and guidance support to Deaf / Deafblind
BSL users about
how to take part in politics. The
SCoD
could work with the Scottish Government to develop clear
resources, including offline and online
BSL
versions.

BSL / English
interpreters should be available at local political meetings and
this should be publicised before the event to encourage more Deaf
/ Deafblind
BSL users to
come along. The Scottish Government should encourage
organisations holding hustings events
etc. to advertise the availability of
BSL / English
interpreters.

Political parties could hold 'open days' to explain what they
are looking to do and how they are going to include Deaf /
Deafblind
BSL users.

Appointments to public bodies (Step 53)

Comments people or groups made about this step included:

It is only fair that Deaf / Deafblind
BSL users should
be able to serve on boards of our public bodies.

This step is quite vague and it would be difficult to measure
the effectiveness of any action taken.

Suggestions made or ideas people or groups had included:

The public bodies should know about
BSL, staff
should attend Introduction to
BSL courses and
have refresher courses every year. They should also need to show
that they are aware of
BSL and the
BSL National
Plan.

Information, advice and guidance on applying needs to be
available in
BSL. The
application process should be bilingual and
BSL applications
should be accepted with
BSL as their
first language.

Wording about encouraging and supporting Deaf / Deafblind
BSL users to
seek public appointments should be added to this step.

There should be a central fund to pay for
BSL / English
interpreting services at selection interviews for public or
governance roles as well as to interpret such meetings if the
Deaf / Deafblind
BSL user was
successful.

Information about voting in
BSL (Step
54)

Comments people or groups made about this step included:

Some people may not know about the recent need to register to
vote again. This information is not clear enough in general and
not be accessible to Deaf / Deafblind
BSL users.

There are already resources available offline and online for
Deaf / Deafblind
BSL users in
Scotland. The
SCoD made
a
DVD. This was
filmed in Scotland with Deaf / Deafblind
BSL users in
Scotland and is accessible to their regional signs.

Providing better information about voting in
BSL can be
challenging. In particular, The Electoral Commission is strict
and does not allow much flexibility with changing wording
etc.

Thought should be given to how a Deaf / Deafblind person is
supported at the polling station, including through the use of
new technology.

It will be important to make sure that people's privacy is
respected and they do not find themselves coerced into voting in
a particular way.

Suggestions made or ideas people or groups had included:

The role of the Electoral Commission in providing tailored
information in
BSL should be
mentioned in the Draft
BSL National
Plan.

There should be information in
BSL about how
councils and government works, and the process involved in
elections and voting. There should also be information in
BSL about how to
get involved and take part in debates. This type of information
should also be made available in schools.

The signs at polling stations should be clear and staff
should be trained or should have a
BSL / English
interpreter on site to answer any questions that a Deaf /
Deafblind
BSL voter may
have. There should be a
BSL video / film
clip showing Deaf / Deafblind
BSL voters how
to cast a vote at all polling stations.

Election information produced by political parties (Step
55)

Comments people or groups made about this step included:

Political parties should lead by example. Each political
party should employ
BSL experts to
support their work with
BSL
communities.

Deaf organisations have been critical about the availability
of information in
BSL, especially
during the Referendum on Scottish Independence.

Suggestions made or ideas people or groups had included:

This step should be changed to say that political parties
must provide information in
BSL.

All manifestos and leaflets should be produced in alternative
formats.

All political broadcasts should be subtitled and have a
BSL / English
interpreter on screen. All Pre-election and parliamentary debates
should also have a
BSL / English
interpreter on screen.

It would be better to have different people interpreting or
translating for different political parties. It could be
confusing if different parties used the same
BSL translator
or
BSL / English
interpreters.

There should be a central fund to pay for
BSL / English
interpreting services at debates and hustings, or to pay for
selection interviews for public or governance roles as well as to
interpret such meetings if successfully selected.

Other comments people made about democracy

Public service, state or emergency announcements should be in
BSL. There are
examples of good practice by other countries, such as public
announcements with
BSL / English
interpreters or Deaf Video Relay interpreters (
VRI) in
vision and often next to the official spokesperson.
BSL livestream /
live filming translations of Council and other key public sector
meetings should be the 'norm'.

The focus is on how adult Deaf / Deafblind
BSL users can
engage with the electoral democratic process but it is also
important to look at ways that young Deaf / Deafblind
BSL users can
become involved in participatory forms of democracy. There is no
mention of how Deaf / Deafblind children and young people will be
involved in the decisions that affect them and in holding
Scottish Government to account.

The Deaf Sector Partnership Youth National Advisory Group (
DSPYNAG)
should be involved in the development of the
BSL National
Plan. Members of the Youth Parliament could work with Deaf /
Deafblind
BSL users at
school to encourage future involvement in politics.

A good step in promoting democracy in Scotland for Deaf /
Deafblind
BSL users would
be the establishment of a new Scottish Deaf national
organisation.